California has been known to have many fault lines. Many of these are potential for dangerous earthquakes. Researchers are saying that the Ventura Fault could be an origin for strong earthquakes as well.
Researchers from the University of California Riverside have identified the Ventura Fault to be an origin for strong earthquakes in the future. Such strong earthquakes can result in more damage than currently believed. The fault runs under Ventura all the way off the shore. It can have the potential of generating tsunamis as well.
An earthquake of magnitude 8 or even greater can come from the Ventura Fault. Its exact size and location is still being determined though. An early assessment has the fault to be planar and dipping. A much later assessment in 2014 suggests that it might have a ramp-flat geometry though.
Researchers have tested the two models to see what might be the more likely one for the fault. The computer model made by the researchers has the Ventura Fault to be westward 60 miles from Ventura. It runs through the Santa Barbara Channel and under Santa Barbara and Goleta, according to UCR Today.
The computer model that has been made shows that the 2014 assessment of the fault to be more likely. Gareth Fanning, one of the authors of the study and associate professor of Geophysics at UC Riverside has said the model they have made confirms the Ventura Fault to be a major fault system. The potential for large earthquakes from the fault is very high, as Science Daily reports.
Future research and analysis would be done on the Ventura fault. That would include how much damage can a strong earthquake would be made as well as whether a tsunami is likely to happen. Southern California is very susceptible to major earthquakes, making such studies very important for the area.
California is a place with many fault lines. Many of these have the potential for a large earthquake. The Ventura Fault could be an origin for strong earthquakes. A study has shown a white dwarf tearing a comet apart.
